3 Marines killed as new fighting hits Fallujah

Fallujah again shows it is far from tamed3 Marines killed; Rumsfeld visits the wounded at Mosul

NICK WADHAMS, Associated Press |
December 24, 2004

FALLUJAH, IRAQ - U.S. Marines fought with insurgents Thursday in Fallujah as warplanes and tanks bombarded guerrilla positions in the heaviest fighting in weeks. The clashes raged as nearly 1,000 residents returned to the devastated city for the first time since U.S. troops drove out most of the militants last month.

At least three Marines were killed in combat that underlined how far the city and area are from being tamed as the United States and its Iraqi allies try to bring calm before national elections Jan. 30.

American troops have also faced growing violence in the northern city of Mosul, where a blast ripped through a mess tent at a military base Tuesday, killing 22 people — most of them Americans. The suicide bomber believed to have carried out the attack was probably wearing an Iraqi military uniform, a U.S. general said Thursday.

Rumsfeld landed in darkness and walked immediately to a combat surgical hospital where many of the bombing victims were treated.

He told soldiers he remained confident of defeating the insurgency and stabilizing Iraq, while noting that to some "it looks bleak."

"There's no doubt in my mind, this is achievable," Rumsfeld told a couple of hundred 1st Brigade soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division. He promised them that later in life they will look back and feel pride at having contributed to a mission of historic importance.

"When it looks bleak, when one worries about how it's going to come out, when one reads and hears the naysayers and the doubters who say it can't be done, and that we're in a quagmire here," one should recall that there have been such doubters "throughout every conflict in the history of the world," he said.

3 Marine deaths confirmed

In the center of Fallujah,

F-18s dropped several bombs, sending up plumes of smoke. Tank and machine-gun fire could be heard to the south while howitzers at Camp Fallujah southeast of the city boomed throughout the day.

The guns fired illumination rounds after dark to help Marines on the ground spot attackers.

The military would not give specific figures for casualties in Fallujah, saying only that three Marines were killed in action Thursday in Anbar province, which surrounds the city. But a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed three deaths in the Fallujah clashes.

During the fighting, hundreds of Fallujans spent hours lined up at a checkpoint northwest of the city, one of four entry points where people had to prove they lived in the Andalus district, a mostly commercial area in the heart of Fallujah that was the first neighborhood opened to residents.

Most of the people showed up on foot or shuttle buses, not having gotten word that authorities had changed their minds about allowing cars into the city.

Officials said few people stopped by humanitarian centers set up to offer food and other supplies. Huge tanks holding drinking water have been erected across Fallujah because the water system is still out of commission.

By the end of the day, 921 people had passed through the four checkpoints, 16 were turned back, and one was detained, U.S. military spokeswoman Maj. M. Naomi Hawkins said.

Officials said people may not have known they were allowed to go home, and more might come after announcements are made at mosques today. They also said some people were waiting to hear whether it was safe to return — a question made more acute with the fighting.

Iraqis 'ready to set up tents'

Marines have said many people staying in refugee camps near Fallujah did not seem to be aware of the extent of damage. Few buildings were left unscarred in the U.S. offensive, which began Nov. 8.

But some Iraqis seemed undeterred by the destruction.

"We want to go back to Fallujah. We want to see whether our houses were looted or not," a man said. "Even if our houses were destroyed, we are ready to set up tents inside Fallujah."

American commanders have hailed the offensive to retake Fallujah as a major tactical victory. But violence elsewhere in Iraq has continued, after many guerrillas apparently slipped out of Fallujah.